


Game

by Alyssa_Allyrion



Series: Time before love [2]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Introspection, M/M, “Give and take” to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-12 01:44:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15328947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alyssa_Allyrion/pseuds/Alyssa_Allyrion
Summary: Frustration rose up in Hisoka’s chest. There were few things he enjoyed more than pushing the boundaries, pushing people past their limits. However, it appeared that pushing Illumi’s boundaries was a more difficult task than he initially imagined.





	Game

**Author's Note:**

> The "Time before love" series is a prequel to my [ "Till death do us part" ](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1053629) series and explores Hisoka's and Illumi's relationship before they fell in love.

Hisoka was lying on the bed watching Illumi get dressed and wondering why Illumi always insisted on putting his clothes back on as soon as they were done. After all, there were few things in life more pleasant than lounging around naked after a passionate encounter. If Hisoka did not know any better he would have thought that being undressed made Illumi feel vulnerable. _As if anything makes him feel vulnerable,_ Hisoka scoffed to himself, frustrated. 

Hisoka turned his head to the side and noticed a few of Illumi’s needles lying on the nightstand. _Would he notice if one were to disappear?_ Feeling mischievous, Hisoka waited till Illumi turned away, and grabbed the needle, hiding it among the pillows on the bed. A quick check seemed to suggest that Illumi’s nen was not connected to the needle, at least not at the moment. Thinking of the way Illumi handled the needles, however, Hisoka wondered if Illumi and his tools shared some deeper connection. _No matter. If Illimi notices that this needle is missing and wants it returned, he will have to work for it. After all, it is quite impolite to leave when your partner is so clearly read for round two._

Frustration rose up in Hisoka’s chest. There were few things he enjoyed more than pushing the boundaries, pushing people past their limits. However, it appeared that pushing Illumi’s boundaries was a more difficult task than he initially imagined.

Ever since the first time they have shared a bed everything went according to an already familiar scenario – Illumi would immediately get up and get dressed without speaking to Hisoka and would only break his silence to give dry, single-word answers to Hisoka’s questions. Hisoka would try to get Illumi to return to bed, and would fail at doing that. The thought made Hisoka angry. Seeing him naked and oh so eager for more could seduce anyone. Anyone, but Illumi, it seemed. 

_If I want things to change, I need to throw Illumi off balance,_ Hisoka realized, _Which was easier said than done_. But Hisoka would not have been himself if he backed down from a challenge. 

Hisoka found strange excitement in breaking through Illumi’s calm and indifferent façade. Sometimes during their encounters he could have sworn he almost managed to do so, and all that was necessary to achieve his purpose was one little nudge. Illumi, it appeared, made it his goal to ensure that Hisoka did not get an opportunity for such a nudge. 

Whenever they were abed, Hisoka enjoyed keeping the lights on so that he could watch Illumi’s reactions. While Illumi’s unaffected and disinterested facial expression rarely changed, with time Hisoka started noticing tiny signs that, he believed, gave away that Illumi was, in fact, affected by their activities– the glimpse of desire in his eyes as Hisoka got undressed, the sharp intake of breath as Hisoka’s mouth touched his flesh, the way Illumi’s fingers clenched tighter in Hisoka’s hair as Illumi got close to release. 

While Hisoka knew what he saw, heard and felt, seeing Illumi act so unaffected after the fact almost made Hisoka question his memories. There were times when Hisoka thought he should just give up on his little game, since, after all this time it did not seem like he was anywhere close to winning. Giving up, however, was not something he did. Besides, Illumi was, surprisingly, quite good in bed, and Hisoka believed that it would be quite a shame to lose out on the benefits part of their friendship. 

As Hisoka was lying on the bed, thinking, Illumi turned around, and walked over to the nightstand to pick up his needles. As he picked them up and tucked them away, Illumi looked at Hisoka. 

“Give it back,” he demanded.

“Give what back?” Hisoka said faking innocence. 

Illumi did not look like he was in the mood to argue. He outstretched his hand, waiting for Hisoka to return the needle. Hisoka paused for a moment, thinking. 

“You will have to convince me,” he said after a while, giving Illumi a sly smile, and turning over onto his side to provide Illumi with a better view of all that he was missing out on. 

“Give it back,” Illumi repeated in a colorless tone. Looking into his empty eyes, Hisoka felt like the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Hisoka thought about his options. He could refuse, which would probably mean that they would fight. Somehow, he did not want to fight Illumi this very moment. 

It took Hisoka a moment to reach behind the pillows and produce the needle, which he promptly handed to Illumi. As Illumi took the needle and headed over to pick up his bag, Hisoka could barely suppress a sigh. There he was, lying on bed in all his naked glory, clearly turned on, and all that Illumi could think about were his damned needles. The indifference infuriated more than Hisoka thought it could. 

Illumi’s marked indifference got under Hisoka’s skin, and suddenly he wanted to do something – anything – to hurt him. Looking at Illumi’s long hair, Hisoka felt the urge to grab at it and pull hard – and he would have done so if there were any hope that Illumi would yell or cry out. But Hisoka knew all too well that that would not get any reaction out of Illumi. _No, there is a better way._

If Hisoka has learned anything about Illumi, it was that Illumi was quite a proud man and that his main source of pride was his skills – be that his assassin skills or some other skills. 

“Last night was quite a bore,” Hisoka said, with a yawn, “I almost fell asleep.”

At first it seemed like Illumi ignored his words, as he continued collecting his things. After a moment, however, Illumi turned around. 

“That bad?” he asked in an indifferent tone. 

“Just very average. Almost makes me wonder if we should do it again,” Hisoka said, looking into Illumi’s face. 

Illumi nodded, his facial expression still calm and unaffected. Picking up his bad, he walked out of the hotel room, closing the door behind him. Hisoka sighed with frustration – any other man would drop what they were doing and get back into bed to prove that they were better than average. Hisoka did, however, take small comfort in the fact that there was unusual stiffness in Illumi’s walk as he left the room. 

It was not long before Hisoka texted Illumi for another meet up. After all _he_ did not have – and did not need – any of Illumi’s self-control, so when there was something he wanted, he went after it immediately. 

Illumi took unusually long to respond – previously Hisoka would receive Illumi’s reply within a day or two, but this time more than a week has passed. 

As Hisoka opened the message and read Illumi’s reply, a smile spread across his lips. Usually Illumi’s replied were brief and written quite formally, however, this message only contained date and time, not even a question mark. The feigned indifference of the text message entertained Hisoka. 

Perhaps, he was able to get under Illumi’s skin after all. _Looks like the game is back on._

**Author's Note:**

> First, first work from Hisoka's POV, he's markedly more difficult to write than Illumi, at least imo. 
> 
>  
> 
> Second, sorry for the long absence, as I have previously explained, first half of July was a very busy time irl. 
> 
>  
> 
> Third, I know I promised to update "Concealed" in mid-July, but, unfortunately real life got in the way ~~and also I had to rewrite the outline again, as there are some plot changes sigh~~. I should have a chapter up by this weekend though.
> 
> Finally, as usual, if anyone wants to talk to me about these two fools, my [ askbox ](https://alyssaallyrion.tumblr.com/ask) is always open. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
